Simon Says
"Simon says, look this way..."
The monster in the human flesh casually walked into the town square.
"Simon says, come and play..." he hummed to himself.
His eyes scanned the crowd, looking for the perfect victim. The kind that screamed trust and innocence. The younger, the better.
"Simon says, Simon says..."
Then he spotted her, his perfect little martyr. A little girl, no older than six, stopped right in front of him, clutching a teddy bear in her hand. She looked at him curiously.
...someone's gonna die today!
Thrill of excitement filled his entire body. He smiled.
The kid smiled back, oblivious to his intentions till the last second, till the moment she had the barrel of a gun directly in front of her face.
Even a stupid human child like her knew what it meant. She froze, her eyes widening. He pulled the trigger with a cheerful grin on his face.
It was definitely the most invigorating kill in Envy's existence.
"I didn't do it."
The quiet whisper resounded in the empty cell.
"I didn't do it. It wasn't me."
Simon must have repeated those words a thousand times by now, but he kept saying them. The truth everyone refused to hear. The truth the military refused to believe.
"It didn't shoot anyone."
He wasn't even there that day, in that town square, where the little girl died. He had been in a completely different district, writing a report. He even showed it to the military police. They ignored him. They had multiple witnesses who claimed they recognized him, they said. Brigadger General Simon Stewart had shot and killed an Ishvalan child in broad daylight.
It had to be a lie. A deliberate, carefully crafted deception, good enough to fool a dozen of witnesses. He had never been on the scene when it happened.
"I didn't do it."
But they sentenced him anyway. He was going to die for a crime he didn't commit.
Simon didn't want to die.
Only two weeks ago, he was still a freshly promoted Brigadier General with the promise of a long and rewarding career. Only three years ago, he finally gotten married to sweet Martha Jenkins, the love of his life. Only two months ago, he found out that his wife was expecting.
Two weeks ago, he was still a thirty-six-year-old moderate with hopes of helping Ishval after being forcefully annexed into Amestris. Now, he was in prison for an act that, according to rumors, would not only drastically turn up the tension between Amestrians and Ishvalans, but probably result in a full-blown civil war.
He couldn't understand how this happened.
"I didn't do it."
"Oh, didn't you?" someone suddenly spoke, making Simon jump up in fright. "How interesting. That's not what the witnesses said, you know."
He raised his head. On the other side of the bars stood a blond-haired soldier he'd never seen before.
"Who are you?" Simon asked, unsettled.
The man smiled at him, the expression deeply disturbing for some unexplainable reason. "Why, I'm the reason you're stuck in that cell, Mr. Stewart. You may call me Envy."
Simon felt chills down his spine. "What do you mean, you're the reason?"
"Ah, I bet you've been dying to find out who REALLY shot that kid, didn't you?" The man bowed to him, smirking. "Here I am. A pleasure to meet you!"
The former Brigadier General felt himself shaking. Whether it was shock or rage, he really didn't know. He stood up. "You..."
"Me," the bastard in front of him replied with satisfaction. "I wanted to thank you personally. I really couldn't have found a better person than you for this... To single-handedly ruin all of Amestrian-Ishvalan public relations," he clapped his hands with glee "And with only one shot, no less! You made my job too easy."
Simon clutched the bards. "Why?" he choked out. He couldn't understand.
The other snorted in amusement. "Look at you! Heheh, you should see your face! I knew this trip would be worth it." Then he rolled his shoulders and started walking away as if nothing happened. "Welp, I'm done here. Farewell, Mr. Stewart!"
"Wait! Envy!" he screamed after him. "Who are you?! Why did you do this?!"
Only a wicked laughter replied him, followed by a distant: "Simon says, look this way, Simon says, come and play..."
He spent the rest of his days in prison thinking about that person. Envy.
The name of the man who framed him. The one who shot that little girl. The person who made his child an orphan before they were even born.
He wanted to kill him. He wished Envy to die in the most terrible way possible.
Simon expected to be sent to the gallows accordingly with official military procedures. He hoped that, at least, his execution would be quick and relatively pain-free. But fate wasn't so kind.
He had no idea what they wanted with him and a dozen others in the laboratory, or what the strange alchemical pentagon array on the floor was for. But the visible bloodstains on it gave him some pretty good ideas.
Unfortunately, having your soul ripped out from your body is a lot worse than dying.
Being stuck in a void of screaming souls was agony.
Being stuck in a mannequin was torture. Simon shrieked in torment when his soul was bonded to the immortal vessel alongside the others.
He had the vagues awareness that he was chasing something, someone, someone small and fast and agile, but the only thing he could focus on were the constant pain and hunger. When something grabbed and absorbed him, he was almost relieved.
Suddenly, a clear voice broke through all the other deafening noise.
"You are Envy, right?"
Simon woke up in an instant.
ENVY.
His entire being burned at the sound of that name.
"The Homunculus who can shape at will."
He did? Well, that explained some things, didn't it?
Simon Steward listened closely to the exchange between Envy and the other man.
"Congratulations Colonel Mustang. You've finally hunted down your culprit."
Ah, so this Colonel Mustang had his reasons for revenge against Envy, too. Suddenly, he started to feel hope.
Kill him. Kill him kill him kill him, I beg of you! End this, kill this bastard for what he had done!
"Every word you said is adding to your funeral pyre. So I will begin... with burning out your TONGUE!" Mustang screamed.
Yes! Simon cheered in dark satisfaction.
The fight was incredible. Mustang was a powerful alchemist. And vicious.
"What's it like having the fluids inside of your eyes boil? I'd imagine it might sting a little."
Very vicious. He didn't even hesitate to fire when Envy took the form of his former friend, apparently.
"Maes Hughes is dead. That's a fact. And you to invoke his image, you must be a glutton for punishment!"
Souls were disappearing around Simon like shootings stars into darkness. At this rate, there wouldn't be any of them left.
"So this is your true form then... you're ugly! Envy means 'Jealousy'... that's what your name means, right? I get it! and jealousy is an ugly thing!"
He was one of the last souls left. Meaning, Envy was dying. The monster was almost dead. Finally. Even trapped in this hell, Simon couldn't be happier.
"That's enough, Colonel."
No, so close! Please don't stop him now!
"That thing... deserves the worst death possible!"
Yes! Yes, he...!
"Give him to me! OR I'LL BURN UP YOUR HAND ALONG WITH HIM!"
"TRY IT THEN! If it's a fight you want, fine, but first, maybe you should take a good look at your face!"
His face...? Mustang looked... terrifying. Envy was terrified of him. But that was good, wasn't it? Envy was...
"I won't stop him from giving into revenge. What right do I have to stop someone from seeking vengeance?"
An Ishvalan? What was he...
"But still, I shudder to think what kind of world a man held captive by his own hate would create - once he becomes its ruler."
Ah... Mustang's reaching for the top, wasn't he? Just like Simon, while he'd been still alive...
"But I did it! I finally ran him down!"
"I know that! But still! ...But still. You are about to do something reckless. This will not help, not your country or your friends."
The woman... was right. How Simon could have forgotten?
Everything he ever did... it was for the good of the country. Since his death, the only thought in his mind left was Envy's death, and while he subconsciously considered that it would be for Amestris, for the good of everyone, yet... was it really the case?
Or had he... lost himself so much?
"You're better... I KNOW you're better than that.
This woman... She reminded him of Martha.
Sweet Martha. How much he had forgotten? What would his wife had thought of him now, if she knew how much he had lost himself in hatred?
"What kind of madness is this? Scolded by a child... Lectured by a man who has been my enemy... And you... I've done it again... I've hurt you. How foolish can one man be?"
Simon whispered the words along with the Flame alchemist:
"Please forgive me."
Then Envy had to open his damn mouth.
"Are you a moron? Some nice flowery words, and fake sympathy? You make me sick to my stomach."
Envy...
"Are you humans always such a pathetic worms?"
...he wasn't telling the truth about his feelings, was he? How had Simon missed it before?
"There's no way..."
He didn't think that humans were pathetic. Not truly. Deep down... Envy was...
"No. No, you can't! Never! NEVER! It's impossible! How could you? How could you do it? HOW!?"
In the end, it was the kid who nailed it.
"...you're jealous of humans, aren't you?"
Oh.
The pain. The pain Envy felt when the truth came out. Even Mustang's flames hadn't burned him so deep as this.
"Damn! Dammit! Dammit! I've been humiliated! HUMILIATED! Me, Envy, jealous of you? Of you human?!"
That was the reason Envy chose him, wasn't it? Simon had wanted to know why his face was the one he had chosen... To kill. To tear the country apart. To have him rot in prison and get executed.
"I'm a homunculus! How could this pipsqueak kid see through me?"
And all this time, it was because he had everything. Everything Envy didn't. Just like that man Hughes.
"It's the ultimate humiliation..."
The moment Envy chuckled through bitter tears, Simon knew what was going to happen.
"Well, best of luck with that, pipsqueak..."
But, just as the Stone shattered, Simon grabbed on tight, pulling the remains of Envy's soul with him. Not because he forgave him - that wasn't the case, it would never be the case - but out of understanding. Out of a sense of responsibility.
Wherever we're going, Envy... I'm not letting you go just yet. You think you can run because you've faced the truth? You're not off the hook so easily. You might be going to hell, but you're not going alone. For better or worse, I'm accompanying you on the ride down.
There had been no one to defend Simon Stewart on his trial. If not being the devil's advocate, he could be at least an honest witness.
The rest? Would be up to Truth.
Simon Says... you're not done yet.
Author's Note:
I always had a fascination with obscure, not-really-present-in-cannon characters. This was my take on the officer whose face we saw only in a single flashback, yet we never saw the real him at all. Brigadger General wasn't a rank I pulled out of nowhere, though - I looked up what the straps and stars on his shoulders meant. He's definitely a Brigadger General. But "Simon Stewart", as you've guessed it, is a name I came up with entirely on my own.
So, what do you think? Is the story alright? Please let me know in the comments, follow and add to favorites if you can, but most importantly - read on and enjoy! :)